Around Melbourne
Various
As a chill settles over the city each winter, Rising returns with a nocturnal vengeance. This year, the much-loved arts festival will take place across twelve nights from June 4-15, with a red-hot program featuring 65 events, 327 artists and nine world premieres.
Musical highlights include an exclusive Australian performance by British indie-pop girlie Suki Waterhouse; a one-off show by Beth Gibbons of Portishead fame, who will bring her haunting solo album Lives Outgrown to Hamer Hall; and Brooklyn rap legends Black Star (aka Yasiin Bey and Talib Kweli) live on stage in Melbourne for the first time ever. Joining them on the line-up will also be Japanese Breakfast, Marlon Williams and Mount Kimbie.
Flinders Street Station will double as a mini golf course when Swingers – The Art of Mini Golf takes over. This immersive (and fully playable) exhibition will include works by some of the world’s most dynamic and boundary-pushing female-identifying artists. The Capitol Theatre will also be transformed thanks to a massive kinetic light installation by Shohei Fujimoto. If it's a break from the hustle and bustle of life you're after, Korean artist Woopsyang's viral “do nothing” challenge comes to QV Square, inviting participants to sit in total stillness for 90 minutes.
On the theatre front, don't miss the cult classic Hedwig and The Angry Inch, starring Sean Miley Moore; Monolith, a new major dance work by Wiradjuri artist Joel Bray; and The Wrong Gods by S. Shakthidharan, the playwright behind last year's smash-hit production Counting and Cracking.
The action-packed hub of Night Trade will sprawl through the laneways around the Capitol Theatre to Howey Place, featuring interactive art, karaoke, food and more — with free entry. While Day Tripper – the festival within a festival – also returns with a full day of live music, performance, art and lasers.
Continuing Rising’s legacy of unlocking hidden corners of the city, the 2025 program will spill into laneways, arcades, underground basements and grand theatres. It's set to transform Melbourne into an after-dark playground, so clear your calendar and get planning. For more info and to view the full program, head to the website.
Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Melbourne newsletter for the best of the city, straight to your inbox.
